Like Rain
by Starlight Curse
Summary: He had always hated rain. Maybe it was just in his cat-like nature, or maybe it was what he thought was the weather's sick way of keeping him away from that girl. What he didn't expect was how easily that opinion could change. #3


**Hi everyone!**

**It's me here with another one-shot kinda story.**

**I hope you like it! :)**

**Oh, and you see this line thing, right after the A/N?**

**Yeah, well, that's my lifesaver.**

**Really! I just found out about it now, and it's just the perfect thing to separate whatever crazy thing I wanna say from the story. **

**Thank you to whoever invented it ;)**

**Oh, and review please! :D**

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Like Rain

The rain was drumming hard against the roof of his room, making the sound echo in the almost empty space. Hating the rain wouldn't make it go away, but he did. He always did.

He sat in silence just sitting there on his window sill, crimson eyes reflecting the little light that came through the cloudy sky. His special star bedroom size was a waste since he hardly ever spent any time in there. During the day, he would be in classes with that damn Naru making up ridiculously unrealistic assignments for his eighth grade class.

And during any other time, he would sit under his tree.

_Their_ tree.

With her.

That was one reason he hated the rain: it meant that he couldn't go outside to his favourite cherry blossom tree… and hear that idiotic girl chatter about in his ear. She was just so freaking happy—and it irritated him. It really did. But still, he always felt so much more at ease when she was right beside him, because it made everything less dark and lonely.

Like it was now.

He thought about it. Would she be mad at him for just showing up at her room unannounced, just to sit there while she talked? He doubted it. That girl wasn't one to be mad. Well, except to him, but she was never able to hold a grudge against him for long, being the too-easily forgiving girl she was. It was a good thing for _him_, but to anyone else, he hated when they even just talked to her; hated that she was friends with all those boys who drooled whenever she walked by; hated it when she smiled at them when that smile was supposed to be reserved for _him_.

Ever since she arrived, his list of _hates_ had seemed to get so much bigger.

_And so much smaller. _

Before he really knew what he was doing, he was out of the door and heading towards the one-star area where her room had always been ever since she was released of that horrible no-star position, and was knocking on the door.

No answer.

Surprised, he knocked again.

Silence.

_That's strange_, he thought to himself. _She usually answers the door almost immediately, or yells for whoever it is to wait for a second before she does. _

Without another pause, he burned the inside of the lock with his Alice and kicked against the door once, which opened smoothly for him.

_Just like it always did. _

He took a few steps inside before rushing back out the door, muttering a few delectable words under his breath. The small space was empty, no sign of her in it, and her strawberry scent was distant as if she hadn't been in there since morning.

The next stop was the inventor's.

"What is it, Hyuuga?" The purple eyed girl answered the door without any sort of hello or greeting. He wasn't surprised by her actions or that she had known it was him before she opened the door; by now, he knew better. Spending time with that girl meant spending time with her friends as well, even the cold inventor. It meant he knew more about people more now than he had ever bothered to learn in his life.

"Where is she, Imai?" he asked without hesitation.

Hotaru knew who he was talking about. "How should I know? She said she was supposed to meet you." And then she closed the door in his face.

Maybe he would've growled if he wasn't so puzzled over what the girl said. _She said she was supposed to meet me? What…_

Then it hit him.

The boy slid open the nearest window and jumped down, out into the rain and off the high floor of the tall building. Some passersby just stopped to look over the edge he had fallen, but they weren't surprised. Those in the middle school division knew all about the black cat's habits thanks to the missions he did for the principal and his time around the most popular girl there.

He moved quickly through the rain, soaked the instant he came from out of the shelter. That was another reason he hated rain: he was like a cat. Cats didn't like water, plain and simple, and he was no exception. But he had a purpose that revolved around someone he _loved_, so it wasn't really an option. When it came to her, there were never any options.

There she was. The girl sat under the big tree, soaked from head to toe, but not seeming to really care. Wet brown pigtails slung over her shoulders, reaching almost to her waist, and her warm chocolate brown eyes stared up at the sky. Her uniform stuck close against her skin, and her backpack was on her one side from when she was at classes during the day. Now it was almost the evening, and she was still there.

_Waiting for me. _

A pang jabbed in his chest as he saw her sneeze into her sleeve, probably sick from sitting under the heavy rainfall all that time. But she didn't even make move to get up, just looked back to the cloudy sky as if she saw some sort of sunlight that no one else could see.

Stepping into her view, the boy stood in front of her. She just smiled her bright smile like she would've even if she hadn't been soaked. "Hey, Natsume. I almost thought you weren't coming today."

Something flashed in his eyes. Anger. Worry. Impatience. "Idiot. It's raining today; why would you wait here for me for so long in this rain, Polka?"

Mikan didn't shrug. She didn't tell him that she knew it was stupid, and she didn't even argue with him that she could do whatever she wanted. Instead, she turned back to the gray skies and said, "I don't mind the rain."

Funny how just saying how she felt made him alter his opinion too.

He sat down beside her as she started off about all the things that happened during her day, seeming to forget that he had been there too. But he just listened to her voice as it lined in beat with the pattering of the rain on the ground around them. She was too happy for someone who'd been sitting in that cold weather for hours, and he took note of how she always tried to defend herself against his accusations that she was sick whenever she sneezed or coughed.

After an immeasurable amount of time spent just talking, Mikan's voice dropped a little and he could tell now that she was really sick. She blinked to herself, obviously trying to keep herself awake, and she coughed a little more.

"Polka." He stopped her, reaching out to hold her hands under his. Her grip was so feeble.

"Natsume…" she whispered, blinking a little more.

He didn't wait another second before scooping her up in his arms, carrying her out of the open area. She didn't even protest; it made him worry even more. Her body was ice cold; maybe it was just because he was warmer…he hoped. Mikan closed her eyes, fighting unconsciousness, and Natsume wasn't even certain if she was awake or not when he said, "I hate the rain."

She opened her eyes and smiled at him, a little more clarity coming into her eyes. "Really? I love the rain. It reminds me so much of you."

Natsume glanced down at her, eyebrows raised.

Mikan's smile widened at his excuse of asking for an explanation. "Rain is almost always silent, but its actions are louder and speak for themselves. It is harmless on its own, but deadly in different perspectives. It can be very soft, but it can also be very hard. It acts according to what others do"— Natsume looked at her—"like wind, Natsume. Wind blows it how it thinks it can control it, but rain can never be completely controlled and always has reasons for what it does, though it's usually hard to figure out."

"How could rain possibly have hidden motives, Polka?"

She laughed, her bell-like voice filling his ears. "Rain wouldn't pour just on its own—it rains because it releases stress off something else. Like clouds," she added before he could 'say' anything. "Rain does what it does because it helps lighten up clouds."

"Tch."

"I'm not done!" She poked at his shoulder (which was still around her as he walked towards the door) with her finger. "Another thing: rain is very misunderstood. _Always_ misunderstood."

Another eyebrow raise came from the boy.

"A lot of people think rain causes trouble. They think that it changes their plans at its own will because it is so unpredictable. But it never means to do anything bad. See, Natsume? Rain is very, very misunderstood."

"You know what? I think you're a little smarter when you're sick."

She punched him—weakly—in the arm. "Meanie."

He rolled his eyes. "Anything else, Polka?"

"There's a lot about rain I know," she answered with a shrug, which he noticed was a little stiff. "But there's just one more thing that's really important I know about rain: I love it. Everything about it."

Natsume stopped walking for a moment. "Are you talking about rain or me?"

He felt her snuggle in close to his chest as he unconsciously pulled his arms tighter around her. Her answer was soft against him, her breath misty under the wavering rain. "Both, Natsume. Both."

That was when rain started becoming one of things on his also growing _likes_ list.

Sunlight poked through the clouds, illuminating the sky in a bright glow. The boy didn't keep walking yet, and the girl didn't tell him to. One reason was because the rain was letting up. Another was because the warmth from the sun felt nice against their drenched skin. Another was because the bright circle in the air created a mixture of beautiful colours that flaunted across the sky.

But the reason both were thinking about most was just because they were there with each other.

"You know what reminds me of you, Polka?"

"What, Natsume?"

"Sunshine."

"How's that?"

"It's the thing I love the most."

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**Hope you liked it :D**

**-Starlight Curse**


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